Many people say they would prefer to stay in their homes as they age. According to Bob Bua, vice president of CareScout, a subsidiary of Genworth that conducted the firm's annual Cost of Care survey, the desire for home care bears out in the data. About 70% of Genworth's first claims are for in-home care and 63% of final claims are for people still in their homes. "When people begin long-term care services, they prefer to receive those services in their homes," Bua says.
Fortunately for those who prefer home care, the costs are much less than facilities-based care and they're rising at a slower pace. According to the survey, the cost of care in a facility setting has jumped 4% over the last five years while home care costs specifically for home health aides -- have increased just 1% over that period.
Following are the 10 most expensive states for home health aide services one of the least expensive of the types of care the study looks at. For each state you'll see the median annual cost for a home health aide working 44 hours a week for 52 weeks, the annualized growth rate over five years, the most and least expensive metropolitan areas and, as a point of comparison, the median annual cost of care for a room in a private nursing home in that state. Samantha Allen
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